This item has been placed on the agenda for the meeting at the request of the Area Committee of CALC (County Association of Local Councils)
Minutes:
At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr. H. Bennett addressed the Forum and gave an update as to the current situation in connection with the Local Neighbourhood Partnerships initiative.
He referred to the recent stakeholder events held to obtain feedback on the consultation exercise for the parish councils and district councillors, and cited a number of key issues which emerged from the meetings, namely:-
§ that the District Council would be seeking to work with the parish councils, rather than imposing Local Neighbourhood Partnerships in particular areas without active support from the local community;
§ that the Local Neighbourhood Partnerships in parished areas would be based on the relevant parish boundaries, rather than the District Council Ward boundaries or the County Council's Electoral Divisions; and
§ that, subject to approval by the Council, the Local Neighbourhood Partnership initiatives would be well funded and resourced over the full 'roll-out' of the expected 12 partnership areas, thereby demonstrating the District Council's commitment to the initiatives.
Mr. Bennett explained that Local Neighbourhood Partnerships were based on the Local Strategic Partnership model, but that they would not be formal committees or subject to the District Council's Constitution and would not undermine the democratic legitimacy of the County Council, the District Council or the parish councils. Furthermore, as a result of the stakeholder events, it was felt that Local Neighbourhood Partnerships would enable the Council to target funding at specific local issues.
The Forum was informed that two further Local Neighbourhood Partnership pilots had been proposed, namely:
(a) "Hagley and Rural", covering the Hagley, Clent, Frankley, Hunnington and Romsley areas, with a proposed budget of £20,000 (subject to the approval of the Council); and
(b) Charford, covering an area contiguous with the District Ward boundary, with a proposed budget of £10,000 (subject to the approval of the Council).
The next stages in the process would be to develop and work with the two new pilot Partnerships, having gained an insight into any likely procedural problems and technical issues from the creation of the first two Local Neighbourhood Partnerships in Alvechurch and Rubery. Following this, it was proposed to repeat the stakeholder event type meetings in October / November 2009 to start the process of developing further pilot schemes in other areas of the district. However, Mr. Bennett emphasised that, such was the investment the District Council was proposing to contribute to the scheme, Local Neighbourhood Partnerships would only be established where the consultation processes with the local communities demonstrated that there was a demand for them. The Chairman re-iterated that the Council would not impose Local Neighbourhood Partnerships in those areas where the response to the community consultation indicated that there was no need or requirement for one.
In answer to several questions raised by the Forum, Mr. Bennett reported that it was anticipated that the new pilots would commence on 1st April 2009, and that inaugural meetings would be held in advance of that date with the relevant parties. He reassured members of the Forum that the Local Neighbourhood Partnerships were not an additional tier of local government and stated that they were a means by which to ensure the three tiers of local government were working together with a specific focus on particular areas. It was anticipated that the next pilot schemes would be determined by the consultation process in due course, details of which would become known later in the year.